First Persian Leopard Cubs Born in Russia for 50 Years

For the first time in 50 years two Persian leopard cubs have been born in a Russian national park in a major effort to reintroduce the endangered species back to the wild.

The endangered cats will be released into the wild after learning surviving skills at the Persian Leopard Breeding and Rehabilitation Centre and will start a new population of the leopards in the Caucasus Mountains.

The kittens will gain sight by the ninth day and by the second week will start to crawl around the den, only leaving the home after two months.

The Persian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) population, once widespread throughout this mountainous region between the Black and Caspian Seas, declined drastically throughout the 20th century due to poaching and habitat loss. It is believed that only a few leopards now live there.